Edward V. Ramage (October 2, 1908 – December 1981) was a minister of the

Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Early life

Edward Ramage was born October 2, 1908, in

Weaverville, North Carolina Weaverville is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,567 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Asheville metropolitan area. History Chartered in 1875 and named for Michael Montraville Weaver who gave t ...

, to Samuel Johnson Ramage (d. 1917) and Elizabeth Jane Vandiver. He was one of three children.

Education

Edward Ramage is listed as a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

. However, it is unclear whether Ramage ever obtained a degree. He bounced around colleges, first

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

in North Carolina, next

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

near Atlanta, then back to Davidson, and returning again to Emory before he attended the conservative

Columbia Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Geor ...

in Decatur, Georgia. According to officials at Columbia, Ramage completed his senior year of study, but the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

had no record of an actual degree conferred.

Ministry

After months of struggling to make ends meet he received a job offer during September 1932 to pastor three churches, Main Street, Lindale, and Barkers, scattered over thirty miles of countryside in and around the northwest Georgia town of Rome. From his pastorate in Georgia, Ramage moved on to lead congregations in Decatur, Alabama, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before he received the call from First Presbyterian of Birmingham in 1946. Ramage was a Moderator of the Alabama

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the

. He was one of the eight

clergymen to write and sign " A Call for Unity," criticizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for demonstrations in response to segregation. In response, Dr. King wrote "

Letter from Birmingham Jail The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. It says that people have a moral responsibility to b ...

." During the height of the civil rights tensions in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, pressure from segregationists within his own congregation convinced Ramage to leave his longtime pastorate and pursue a ministry elsewhere.

Sources

* ''Blessed Are the Peacemakers'', S. Jonathan Bass,

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Press, 2001
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramage, Edward V 1908 births American Presbyterian ministers 1981 deaths People from Weaverville, North Carolina 20th-century American clergy